Throbbing Gristle - Mission of Dead Souls

This is a recording of TG's last live performance on 5-29-81, before their initial breakup, with its chaotic, abrasive noize still confrontational and unusual enough at the time to cause audience confusion and anger.

Some of this reminds me a bit of Bauhaus, especially in the effected vocals, but without the song structure. There are a lot of sonic references to the band Suicide, in style and substance, as well as touches of Rema Rema and certainly hints of Hawkwind, free jazz, and even some of the more avant garde influences of the MC5, but some of these might all be simply similar minds working in similar directions at similar times.

There is lots of echo everywhere, plenty of cacophonous effects, at times there is no rhythm, others there is an incessant drum machine and there are always crazed aural waves of pain. The tracks here are not so much "songs" at soundscapes and do blend together in a relatively seamless whole.

Interesting to me that Don Bolles was the sound engineer for this show - I first met Don while he was doing sound at the Cathay De Grande - and he does a fine job here. I am not overly familiar with TG's material, but i absolutely dig this collection of mania.

RIP Genesis P-Orridge